


Shared Scars

by ggyppt



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:41:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25504621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ggyppt/pseuds/ggyppt
Summary: Hope remembers what it was like to have dark magic flowing through her veins, and she's right there ready to help Josie when she starts dabbling with it
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 11
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a darker story, about finding a balance between the darkness inside of yourself and the light. This isn't going to be a cut and dry dark magic bad thing fic, so don't expect that.
> 
> **Edit my beta finally got back to me, so thank you Cocoroco for betaing this chapter.

If there was one thing that Hope could say didn’t change, even having gone through Malivore, was that the forest soothed her. Everything else in her life had changed, in one way or another, but that, that had stayed constant. After the day that she had experienced, Hope needed that sense of comfort, thus, she found herself in the woods, the ones she knows best, the ones the surround the Salvatore School.

This was a risk, that’s for sure, especially after the tense confrontations she had with the people who didn’t remember her. Some of it was that competitive spirit that showed whenever the football match came around. Then there was Josie, there was just something different to what was going on with Josie. Hope had never seen that much spite in the girl’s face before. Then there was the dark magic, that was a new thing, and something that Hope was intimately familiar with.

She didn’t talk about it as much, but she remembered all the things she did under dark magic, how she became a wolf, how she tortured someone she cared about. She remembered all too much what it was like, and she learned a lot from that experience. How to dance on that line, what to do when you take that step to far, how to satiate the hunger that the dark magic brings along with it.

As much as what her family did for her years ago took the spirit out of her body, the corruption that it wrought on her, that stayed. She’s done dark magic, and she has the marks on herself to prove it, and now Josie does too.

Hope was pulled out by the sound of someone approaching her spot. She doesn’t have enough time to disappear into the forest before a figure appears, a figure that she knows all too well. Josie steps into view, her phone acting as a flashlight as she makes her way through the forest. As soon as she caught sight of Hope, her demeanor took a much harsher character to it, “What are you doing here?”

Hope did her best to defuse the situation, “Can’t a girl enjoy a night in the woods.”

Josie just shook her head, “The woods here are dangerous.”

“Trust me, I can handle anything these woods might send my way.”

“You have no idea…” Jose started before Hope cut her off.

“When did you start using dark magic.” Josie was taken aback by the statement. Hope could just about see the gears turning in the other girl’s head.

After a couple of seconds, Josie adjusted into a defensive posture, "You can't prove that was me."

“We both know that you did it.” That statement just hung there.

Finally, Josie regained her voice, before going on the aggressive, “What’s going on between you and my boyfriend.”

A tiny smile graced Hope’s lips for a half a second, before responding, “Nothing that you have to worry about. He just, he reminds me of someone I knew, someone I cared about.”

“Well he seems to have not gotten the memo that you aren’t interested,” Josie spits out.

"Then that's a problem between you and him. I'm not one to come between people." Hope then adds, in a whisper, she didn't even realize was out loud, "and you don't deserve that pain again." As soon she realized that the words left her lips, Hope clamped her hand over her mouth.

That didn’t stop Josie from hearing the words, her eyes going as wide as saucers. Then, she dropped into what Hope always called her thinking face, a look of pure determination that she did when she was trying her best to solve a problem. The pair were stuck in this state for what felt like hours, even though it was probably only a couple minutes. Finally, Josie broke the tension with just a single word, “Malivore.”

As soon as the word is uttered there is a flurry of activity. Hope tried to escape away from this confrontation, not wanting to have the much longer, and harder conversation that would inevitably come from this conversation. Josie bolted forward, grabbing onto Hope’s arm before she could escape. Suddenly the two girls were so close, their faces less than a foot apart. Hope’s eyes dashed around, first to the hand on her arm, then to Josie’s mouth, and finally, meeting her eyes.

"You jumped, didn't you. You're the vampire who jumped," Josie stated, feeling like she had gotten the pieces together, remembering the weird conversation that she had with her dad about the blood that had healed her. There was something off though, this person knew so much about magic, and had certainly implied that she had used dark magic herself. Suddenly Josie was doubting herself.

Hope finally relented, “Your, somewhat right.” Josie’s face light up, knowing that she at least some things correct. Then her face once again dipped into her thinking expression.

When her voice once again appeared, it was small, barely a whisper, “Landon isn't the someone who reminds you of someone you cared for, is he. He's the person you cared for, but he no longer remembers you."

Hope let out a nearly imperceptible nod, looking down at how vulnerable Josie suddenly looked. After a half-second, Hope buried her own feels down deep and she took a deep breath “You guys are happy, I’m not going to come in between that. He deserves someone like you in his life.”

“Isn’t that his choice to make?” Josie stated.

Hope let out a small laugh, “Not going to take the free out that I gave you.”

Josie let out a huff, before crossing her arms. They were still in close enough proximity that her hands grazed across Hope as she moved them, “Not now that I have this knowledge.”

Hope face dropped, “Well then, I’m sorry for opening Pandora’s Box.”

“So, we’ll need to figure out how to get people to remember you, and then he can choose for himself,” Josie offered, a blinding smile forming on her lips.

Hope just shook her head, though the smile did get reflected back at Josie, “You make it sound so easy.”

Just as Josie was about to make a comeback, Hope’s phone buzzed with a reminder that she had to get to bed at some point, “Well, as I am still tethered to the muggle world, I need to get some sleep.”

“How will I be able to reach out to you?” Josie asked as Hope started to turn away.

“Your number still the same?” Josie just nodded, “I’ll reach out to you.” With that, Hope turned and started to retreat into the forest.

“And what should I call you?” Josie called after the retreating form.

“Hope.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hope woke up early the next morning, her dreams of Malivore making a mess of her sleep schedule. This is one of those times that Hope was thankful for all the supernatural genes in her body, keeping her a functional person even after a night of at most 2 hours of sleep. Coffee helped too, and thus she made her way into Mystic Falls High, two cups of coffee in hand. There was the one for herself, plain as could be, not caring for the taste of her caffeine injection.

The other one though was for the friendship she was steadily forming with Maya. An offering after the insanity that was the football game, as well as some protection. The game, and more specifically what happened to Ethan, was a distinct reminder that this town was constantly dangerous. While protecting Ethan would heal him too much too quickly, he could still protect Maya, a single drop of blood in her coffee would hopefully be enough.

As she searched through the hallways for her burgeoning friend, Hope felt a slight buzz. Pulling out her phone, Hope found a response to the text she sent to Josie last night. The original note had been the simple fair that you send when you text someone your number, but Josie’s comment was a lot more pointed.

[6:45 am] Josie – What do you mean by having the scars of dark magic.

[6:46 am] Hope – I’m a witch.

[6:46 am] Josie – but aren’t you a vampire?

That question made Hope draw breath, before doing another quick scan of the hallway to see if she saw Maya. Not seeing her target, Hope buckled down and replied to the girl.

[6:48 am] Hope – I’m a lot of things, and most of them are contradictions.

Looking back around the hallway once again, she sees the downtrodden face of her friend. Hope quickly slipped her phone back into her pocket, before making her way through the crowd towards Maya. Upon reaching the girl’s range of vision, Hope held out the coffee towards the other girl, “I figured after everything you would need a pick me up.”

Maya took a second to recognize the offer, jumping slightly at the initial words, before quietly accepting the offered drink. After a sip and a half, Maya looked over at Hope, before suddenly leaning against her. “I don’t even know why I’m here.” Hope could feel the prickling of tears on the other girl’s face, flowing down onto her shoulder.

After thinking for a couple of seconds, Hope wrapped her arm around Maya and turned the pair around, "Then let's not be here."

Hope felt another buzz in her pocket as she slowly led Maya out of the school. She passed Alaric as she was making her way down the front steps. She gave him a shake of the head that left no room for the contest before he even got a word out.

Knowing that they would need a place to disappear from everything, she started to lead them into the forest. She hoped that it was as calming a place for Maya as it was for her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Eventually, the pair settled down onto the dirt ground. Hope held the other girl as she sobbed and talked about everything going on. Ethan’s arm, his possible scholarships seeming to dry up, the strain it has all put on her relationship with her mother, which already wasn’t in the greatest place. There was just so much going on that she needed to let off her chest, and even though they weren’t the closest when this started, Hope was the one who was here for her right now.

While she did her best to support Maya, giving the girl both the physical comfort she was obviously looking for and trying the best with the emotional comfort, Hope was also keeping an ear out to the forest. Just because it was the daytime didn't mean that there wouldn't be something that wished to make a snack of them, especially with Malivore spitting out monsters once again.

Hope felt another buzz in her pocket, this one though, apparently one that was felt by Maya too “Someone’s trying to get in touch with you,” she commented as she pulled herself away and tried her best to wipe the tears away.

“That’s not important right now, they can wait until you no longer need me,” Hope reaffirmed knowing that the only person that was contacting her right now was Josie, and that was not a conversation that she wanted to have someone looking over her shoulder for.

“Someone I should know about,” Maya teased alongside some eyebrow waggles, obviously taking this as an opportunity to talk about something other than her own hardships.

Hope reached out and lightly took a swipe at Maya, "Nothing like that. Her boyfriend is more interested in me than she is, not that I have any interest in breaking that up."

Hope immediately felt that she had said the wrong thing, because, instead of being pushed off by the fact, Maya had suddenly become much more interested. “Well, if that isn’t a complicated relationship to put yourself in the field of view of. If she is having those doubts, it’s going to be messy.”

Hope gave Maya a playful glare before responding, “It’s complicated.”

“When aren’t things in this town, now spill the beans,” Maya pressed.

“It’s complicated and there’s a lot of the stuff that’s involved that….”Hope paused for a second, trying to find the right words, “that I would not be a good friend to disclose without asking first.”

That stopped Maya in her tracks as she looked at Hope for a couple of seconds, sizing her up almost. A couple of seconds later, she reached out and patted Hope on the should, "I'm glad to hear that actually, makes me less worried about all the stuff I just shared with you."

Hope gave Maya a brilliant smile before her stomach made an interruption. Both girls laugh as the moment gets completely broken, before Hope starts to speak again, "Well, I think that is our cue to sneak back into town and obtain food. Wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of your mom, now would we."

Maya responded with a smile that almost matched Hope's in its brilliance, "Sounds like a plan, you have somewhere specific you want to go."

“Somewhere discrete, so not the grill.”

The two started to make their way back towards civilization, Maya taking the lead, as Hope hung back and fished her phone out of her pocket. Checking the messages, she found two sittings there for her, both as she expected, from Josie.

[6:49 am] Josie – That doesn’t make a lot of sense. You’ll have to explain it to me at some point.

[11:40 am’] Josie – If you’re a witch, why aren’t you going to the Salvatore school?

Hope drew in a deep breath at the question, Josie sure knew how to ask the exact thing that she was hoping the girl wouldn’t ask.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie and Hope have a big conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here's another chapter. I hope you guys continue to enjoy this fic.
> 
> Anyways, a big big thanks to my beta Cocoroco

Josie somewhat understood not responding during school hours. Her own over-eagerness to get answers overtook her sense, which is why she sent out the questions when she did. Now, school had been over for two hours, and Hope had yet to answer her, and that frustrated Josie. She was tense, constantly checking her phone to see if the answer had magically appeared.

“What has gotten you so wound up?” an annoyed voice sounds from the door to Josie’s room. She knew who it was before she even turned around. The tone alone had told her that Lizzie had arrived in their shared room. Josie turned to face her sister, as she continued to ramble on, “Please tell me it’s the Hobbit so I don’t have to be nice to him anymore.”

"It's not Landon," Josie fired back. While she didn't want to admit it, she was partial to her boyfriend, but not because of anything he did. She had been avoiding him today, not quite sure how to face him, and bring the new information that she had learned to bear.

"Well then, what is it, cause I've been getting so much stress over our bond that I'm surprised you're not throwing up," Lizzie stated, her bitchy tone falling away slightly.

“I’m waiting for a reply from a person,” Josie said, scurrying around all the much too uncomfortable details of the situation.

“Well, just go talk to them, that’s how you deal with these situation situations usually,” Lizzie replied, her voice betraying how simple she thinks the answer is.

“Well, I don’t know where they would be,” Josie replied softly.

“You have their phone number, right?” Josie just nodded in response. “Go give Wade a 20$ and he can tell you the location of the phone with that number.”

Josie tried not to rush out of the room too fast. As she started to head through the corridors of the school, Josie practically ran into Landon. He reached out to keep her from falling over. “Hey, what’s got you in a hurry?”

Josie's thoughts were scattered, trying to think of the best way to get out of this situation without arousing too much suspicion, "I have some work that needs to get taken care of, don't have time to talk."

Josie tries her best to slip out of Landon's grasp, but he gently keeps her in place, "Anything that I can help with?"

As much as his willingness to help would make him endearing in most situations, this was not one of those situations. Rather, it got on her nerves. She really didn’t want to do this right now, not until she had as much information as possible, “No, this is something I have to do myself.”

With that, Josie ducked out of Landon’s grasp and made her way back to looking for Wade.

/\/\/\/\

Even though the school had long finished, Hope still found herself in the presence in the company of Maya. Thus, here they were, hanging around the Mikaelson manor, which Hope had been hiding out in. Well, not so much hiding out in, she did have a key.

“So, your family is like, rich and shit?” Maya asked as she sprawled out on the couch.

“Well, inherited wealth is quite a thing,” Hope commented, dodging around the main question.

“So, how come none of them are around?” Maya asked, her voice dipping as she sees the heartache forming on Hope’s voice. “You know, you don’t have to answer that.”

Hope pauses a moment and collects her thoughts, before speaking, “It’s fine…. It’s fine.” Sitting down on one of the couches, Hope let’s out a heavy sigh, “Let’s just say that the rest of the family doesn’t like to come around since my parent’s died.”

Maya collapsed into the seat next to Hope, “Well shit.”

“Yep,” Hope states. There’s a moment of silence between the two of them, before a knocking at the door drags them out of their stupor. Hope looks around suspiciously, before getting up and slowly walking towards the door.

As a second set of knocking comes, and Hope is still nervously creeping towards the door. With a huff, Maya jumps off the couch and marched to the door, throwing it open. Standing on the other side, looking like she was about to knock again, is Josie.

Seeing the door open before her, Josie starts, “I’m looking for Hope…”

“Josie,” Hope says as she dashed forward, pushing Maya out of the way. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to find you, though I was a little surprised to see you squatting in Mikaelson Manor," Josie states, her judgment lacing into her voice.

"I have key," Hope says, holding up her keyring. Josie's face showed a full range of emotions before something clicked in the girl's head.

“We should talk,” Josie stated. Hope just nodded before stepping aside to let Josie in.

As Josie walked past, Maya just couldn’t help but get a comment in, “So, is this Ms. ‘Her boyfriends more interested than she is?’”

The questioning look that Josie gives Hope, only causes Hope to turn and give a death stare to Maya, “Shove off.” The response just made Maya’s smile grow wider. “We’ll be talking in the Parlor, feel free to steal anything you want from the fridge.”

With that, Hope walked away, placing a hand on Josie's arm to guide her towards the parlor. Closing the door tight, Hope quickly did a privacy spell, which got a raised eyebrow from the other girl. "Maya knows nothing of our world, and I wouldn't put it past her to listen in."

Josie nodded, before pacing around the room a little bit, taking in the decorum. The pair sat in silence for a couple of beats, before Josie broached her first subject, "So, a Mikaelson?”

“Yep….” Was Hope’s only response. The silence once again hung between them. When it was finally broken, it was Hope who spoke, “I remember what all they teach about my dad at your school. The Mikaelson name is not the most accepted name in the supernatural world.”

“Are you ashamed of it?” Josie asks, finally taking a seat on one of the many comfy chairs.

“Alaric sure would like me to be,” Hope responded, sitting down on the table so that she is seated directly across from Josie.

“That’s another thing, what’s going on there?” Josie said, an edge of territorialism trickling into her voice.

"In the before times, he was a mentor of a sort. While he never succeeded, I think he was trying to become a father figure for me. All that's gone now, now we are just, partners in keeping down the monsters that keep coming out of Malivore. He’s someone I can open up to whose world I wasn’t going to ruin just by existing,” Hope monologued.

There was something inside of her that caused Josie to frown when she started to hear Hope beat herself up. After a couple of beats of silence, Hope starts to stand up, when Josie's hand darts out, settling on the other girl's knee, "Don't, don't say that. You haven't ruined my life."

Hope proceeds to sit back down in the spot she was at before. “But I have,” was all Hope could get out.

“No, you haven’t. Even if I don’t remember you, and the impact that you’ve had on my life, doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Now that I know that they’re out there, things have started to make sense in my life, thing that didn’t.”

The two sat there for a minute, just sitting in their feelings, neither of them moving from the spot that they were in. This time, it was Josie that broke the silence, “That’s why you don’t come back. You feel guilty about being this thing that causes issues and strife in people’s lives just for existing?”

Hope let out a deep breath, before shooting up and starting to pace, "It's not just that. I remember everything that I had with these peoples, I have these in-built responses to these people and none of it will mean anything to them. It's not just that I don't want to destroy their happiness by their presence, but their presence reminds me of the relationships I don't have now."

“Then we start over. While we are working on recovering everyone’s memories, we start over,” Josie stated, jumping up from the couch.

“And how do you purpose we do that?” Hope said, turning to face Josie.

Josie steps up so she is standing across from Hope, reaching out her hand, “Josie Saltzman, siphoner.”

Hope lets out a wisp of a smile before reaching out and shaking the other girl’s hand, “Hope Mikaelson, mythical tri-bred.”

That caused Josie’s eyebrows to shoot up into her hairline, “Tribred.”

“My family has been the exception to many, many rules, and I have continued on that tradition. I am a Vampire, a Witch, and a Werewolf, all at once.”

Josie puzzled over that for a second, before saying, “I can see where the Vampire and the Werewolf come from, but the witch?”

“My grandmother did cast the spell that created the vampires. Kol was even showing an aptitude before he got turned into a vampire. Just because the vampiric curse stopped my family from using their magic, doesn’t mean it didn’t still run in our bloodline,” Hope explained.

Silence once again descended between the pair, the two of them still connected by their hands. They just stood there, looking at each other. Finally, Hope pulls herself out of whatever trance they had created between the pair. Pulling her hand away, she says, “I think I’ve left Maya alone long enough. You are welcome to join us if you want, but no supernatural talk.”

Josie just nods, a slight blush coloring her cheeks, as she follows Hope. As they walk to the door, Hope turns to her, “If you want to, you can siphon the spell so you have something in your reserve. With the monsters having started up again, I don’t want you low on magic.”

That caused Josie to blush again, a smile showing on her face. Reaching her hand out, she could feel Hope's magic. There was something about it that felt different from even the old and steeped in the magic of the Salvatore School. Josie could almost taste it, this primalness to the magic, this twinge of darkness, a well-worn scar of sins long since committed. Josie just drunk it in, the flavor enticing, though not quite intoxicating.

When she was done, Josie stepped back from the door and motioned for Hope to open it. When they move out to the living room that they left Maya in, they find that she had pillaged the alcohol cabinet. Turning to look at the new arrivals, Maya lifted up a bottle of whiskey that she had obtained, "You guys were taking too long, making out or whatever was going on in there, so I helped myself."

There was a beat, in which Josie’s entire face became covered in a blush. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, Maya was hit in the back of the head with a pillow. There was another beat of silence, as an absolutely scandalized look appeared on Maya’s face.

Josie turned and looked at Hope to find a devilish grin sitting on her face. Suddenly there was a flurry of action, as Maya jumped off the couch, one of the pillows from it in her hand. “Oh, you want to play that way?”

The group quickly descended into a mad flurry of pillows and crashing, and if Josie had to be honest with herself, it was the most fun she had, had in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Josie continue to have deep conversations and Josie makes some decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the delay on this chapter. A bunch of people where I work ended up quitting so guess who has had to do their work....Wooo. Anyways, it's left me with very little time to write, but I finally got this out the door.

A pattern began to emerge as the days crept on. Josie would sneak off campus when classes were over to hang out with Hope and Maya. Josie just felt so comfortable around the two of them, in ways that many of the her friends at the school weren’t anymore.

It was Friday night, and Josie was scampering around her room, trying to gather the various notes that she had compile from going through the Mikaelson library. “Disappearing again?” the annoyed voice of Lizzie stated as she entered the room. Josie stopped what she was doing before giving a sidelong look to Lizzie and delating a little. “Look, as much as I hate the hobbit, he doesn’t deserve to be cheated on.”

Josie spun around, her face aghast, “That’s what you think I’ve been doing?”

“Well you’ve been disappearing every day this week, and you look so happy when you get back. You don’t tell anyone where you are going, what am I supposed to think?” Lizzie fires back.

“And after what happened to me with Penelope, I would hope that you thought highly enough of me to know that I wouldn’t do that to someone else,” Josie struck back.

Lizzie deflated this time. There were a couple seconds of silence, as Lizzie tried to gather her thoughts. Josie went back to busying herself with collection her notes and stuffing them into her messenger back., Rushing out the door, all the Josie could hear was her sister calling after her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

By the time Josie stepped through the door to Mikaelson Manor, her emotional had mostly calmed. There was just enough of a buzz of annoyance at the back of her head that it took her a second to recognize that the usual face of Maya wasn’t greeting her at the door like had become habit. In fact, there was no one in the front room to greet her at all. Walking deeper into the house, she eventually caught wind of sounds coming from the kitchen.

Following the noise, Josie eventually caught sight of Hope, flitting about the kitchen making some type of food. Leaning against the doorframe to the room, Josie just observed the other girl, letting the wave of comfort exuding from the other girl come over her.

Hope took a minute to notice Josie leaning against the barrier that leads into the kitchen. When she did, she jumped a little bit before letting a soft smile form over her features. “Where’s Maya?” Josie asked.

“Ethan is getting out of the hospital today. As much as she is having issues with her mom, she still likes her brother enough to go support him,” Hope replied.

Josie nodded, the solemn silence returning to the pair. Hope finished up her cooking and automatically starts plating up a serving for Josie. Handing it over to the other girl, Hope takes a place at the table. The two spend some time eating in silence. Finally, as they were getting down to the last drops of their meal, Josie speaks up, “You never answered me.”

“Huh?” Was Hope’s only response as she lifted her head away from her food to look at Josie.

“You never really answered me. Are you ashamed of being of Mikaelson?”

Hope lets out a heavy sigh and pushes herself away from the table. There is a beat while the pair just sit there, before Hope starts up, “I can’t. My family has done so, so much for me that nothing else really matters.” Josie just nods as she listens to Hope talk, “I know they were the villain for everyone else, and I can’t really do anything about that. Those are sins I am probably going to have to burden one of these days, but I can’t be mad at them for that.”

“Does that legacy ever feel suffocating?” Josie asks quietly.

“Always, and in the same breath, never.” Josie shot Hope a confused look, “While it’s always there, always present, my family has never pushed me to be something great, at least not since…” Hope trialed off as they hit a sore subject. The silence hung in the air for a couple seconds before Hope took the chance to turn the conversation back around, “How have you been handling the dark magic?”

Josie took a deep breath, not really wanting to deal with this right now, but also know that she didn’t really have room to contest with how personal her question had been. “Professor Vardemus has given me an hourglass I can drain the black magic into,” Josie stated simply.

“So, you are running away from the ramifications of your actions,” Hope replied.

Josie’s head snapped up, as she was about to defend herself, about how awful the side effects of dark magic were. Then, she remembered the conversation that they had less than a week ago, in the library just down the hall. Taking a deep breath, Josie recomposes herself before speaking, “Wouldn’t you avoid it, all the pain.”

“The pain is a reminder of what you’ve done. To avoid it is to look away from your actions,” Hope states simply. “In the moment, I would have done anything to get away from that pain but considering that my desperation to get rid of the implications of my actions not only activated my Werewolf side, but also cost me my parents and my uncle, it’s something that I don’t advise. Your sins will come back to haunt you, no matter how much you put them off.”

That pair once again sat in silence, the gears turning in Josie’s head as she thought over what Hope had just said. After a minute, in which Hope had started to clean up the dishes from their meal, Josie had made a decision. “Are you going to visit Maya tonight?”

“There’s a solid chance that she hides here after she visits her brother. She’s still not on the best terms with her mother right now,” Hope responds.

“Well then, give her my regards, I have some things that I need to do.” Josie starts to make her way to the door before turning just before leaving the room. “Thanks for the meal Hope.”

“Always,” Hope says. Josie pauses for a second, the weight of that statement hitting her. She learned enough about the Mikaelson to know just how much always means to them. With just a slight nod of recognition, Josie makes her way out of the manor.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Josie pauses right outside of the door to her room. With a deep breath, Josie took a step in to find Lizzie draped across her bed with a magazine in hand. “We should talk.”

Lizzie let out a huff and sat up in her bed, “Okay.”

Josie shuffled over to her bed so that she was sitting across from her sister. “I’ve been going to see a witch that’s in town. She’s not affiliated with the school, and she’s gotten through the other side of having used dark magic. She’s been helping me with it.”

As Josie spoke, a sympathetic look started to form on Lizzie’s face. As Josie finished up her little speech, Lizzie reached her hands forward to grab onto Josie’s, “So, you’ve been sneaking out to go to magical AA?”

Josie gave a little laugh at the connection, “It doesn’t feel like that, but you aren’t wrong.”

Lizzie gave her sister a genuine smile, “I’m glad that you are getting help.”

“Me too, but now comes the hard part. This is going to affect you too, but there is something that I need to do,” Josie said as she got up from her bed and started to make her way over to where she had been keeping the hourglass. Lizzie just followed her sister with her eyes.

Gently setting the hourglass onto her bed, Josie spoke again, “I can’t run away from the sins that I have committed, and here lies all my sins, waiting to crack and break. Just waiting to come back to haunt me, so I will choose when it will haunt me, and that is now.”

Josie quickly glanced up at her sister. Getting a nod from her sister, Josie picked up the Hourglass once again, before turning and throwing it into the ground. The rush of magic was immediate, flooding Josie’s system. Collapsing into the side of her bed, Josie fell into unconsciousness quickly enough.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next time that Josie awoke, she was in a dark void. As she looked around, she started to hear the clack of high heels on the ground. Turning to the sound, she found something she didn’t expect, another version of herself. Rather than the conservative and colorful outfits that Josie usually wears, she had on a provocative black outfit, all caped off by dark make-up and black lipstick.

“Who are you,” Josie asked as the figure got to standing in front of her.

“I’m you. I’m the you who is uninhibited, the one who is willing to take what she wants and not worry about the feelings and wellbeing of others,” Dark Josie said as she starts to size up the other version of herself.

“So you’re the devil on my shoulder?” Josie asks.

“I always thought that to be Penelope,” Dark Josie dryly jokes, “But alas, she has left us.”

Josie didn’t feel the need to defend her ex. While they had gotten back on mostly good terms, she couldn’t deny Penelope’s tendencies to push the boundaries of what was reasonable. “So, what now, there are two of us, how’s this going to work?”

“No fight, no attempt to get rid of me?” Dark Josie jabs.

“I need to deal with my sins, not run from them,” Josie states firmly.

Dark Josie just tilted her head as she observed the girl across from her. After a couple seconds of tension, Dark Josie ends up being the one to break it, “Let’s start with the thing we are in agreement of, though I don’t think you’ve admitted to yourself that this needs to be done.” At the inquisitive look from Josie, the darker version of herself spoke again, “We need to break up with Landon.”

There was a pause as Josie processed the information, before agreeing with a nod. After a second, Josie adds, “So, that’s it?”

“For now. I imagine we’ll have more of these soon,” Dark Josie said before dramatically turning around and walking back into the void which she appeared from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this has been enjoyable for you guys. I don't know when I will get the next chapter out, but I fully intend to continue most of my stories (even some of the ones that I haven't touched in a long while) I've just had very little writing time recently

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy, please let me know what you think.


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